THE GREELEY COLONY OF COLORADO 



of the enterprise sadly relates that, at the end of their 

 first year they found they had a surplus of philosophers 

 and a dearth of men who could hoe potatoes. And New 

 England has been smiling about Brook Farm ever since. 

 The end of Fourierism in the United States was the joint 

 debate between Horace Greeley and Henry J. Raymond 

 in their respective newspapers, the Tribune and the 

 Courier, of New York. 



In the minds of the devoted constituency of the New 

 York Tribune, the idea of coloi^-planting as a means of 

 improving the lot of average humanity had taken deep 

 root, so that twenty-five years after Fourier's dream had 

 ceased to flourish as a social experiment, a colony repre- 

 senting its hopes, if not its methods, could gain supporters. 



The new venture was initiated by Nathan Cook Meeker, 

 who had succeeded Solon Robinson as agricultural editor 

 of the New York Tribune at the close of the war. In 

 1844 Mr. Meeker had been an active participant in the 

 Trumbull Phalanx at Warren, Ohio. This had expired 

 of ague, poverty, and dissension, after a fitful career of 

 about three years. "If the place had been healthy/' 

 Mr. Meeker said afterwards, " we should have held out 

 longer, and the idle and improvident would have got 

 more out of the industrious and patient ; but I have no 

 reason to suppose that we should not have finally ex- 

 ploded, either in some fight, or at least in disgust." 

 From this experience he emerged disappointed and des- 

 titute, but with valuable lessons for the future and un- 

 shaken faith in the utility of colonization effort. The 

 knowledge thus dearly bought he was destined to apply, 

 many years later, in a useful career as one of the found- 

 ers of a State. 



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